Does Disney's Club Penguin Initiative Promote Innocent Fun, Or Consumerism?

Questions about Club Penguin’s impact on kids age 6 and up have haunted the online virtual world playground since it was launched in 2005, and bought by Disney in 2007. So it will be interesting to see how anti-consumerism activists respond to Disney’s most ambitious effort yet to use Club Penguin as a cross-promotion tool. The service will introduce tomorrow “Make Your Mark: Ultimate Jam,” an online music and dance party with tie-ins to other Disney-owned services. Disney Records will for the first time introduce a single and music video on Club Penguin — it’s for the song “The Party Starts Now,” which fans can buy in English, French, German, or Spanish at iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon. Disney Channel and Disney’s YouTube Channel will promote the video. Also, until the end of the month, Club Penguin will feature guest appearances from Rocky and CeCe, stars of the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up. This is the first time Disney Channel personalities will interact with Club Penguin members in that online environment. Kids 8 and up who have a parent’s consent can upload a 45-second video of themselves dancing to be considered for an on-air dance competition.